Hi all, I’m new here and have spent a lot of time reading through the threads. I was hoping you can help me. My wife and I are looking to buy bikes in the next few weeks and we’re both new to all of this. We’re just interested in trail riding every week or two, no serious downhill, off-road action. Someday I might graduate to that, but she’s not at all interested. I’ve been looking around and it seems that there is entry level (>$350) at a place like Dick’s Sporting Goods and then there’s entry level ($350 - $500) at the bike shops or REI.

The bikes we were looking at were a Diamondback Sorrento at $279 for her and an Iron Horse Warrior 1.3 at $299 for me (that one is made exclusively by Iron Horse for Dick’s). These two bikes are at the upper end of what we were expecting to spend after gear (helmets, locks, etc) and taxes we’re already up around $750. I know that a lot of people say that you’ve got to spend at least $350 to get anything decent, but is it really necessary for the kind of riding we have in mind.

Just for kicks go to your local shop and tell them what you want to spend and check out the Specialized Hard Rock or a similar bike. They may be able to hook you up with a "combo deal" of some type and get you all set up for right around the same $750 mark for the bikes and accessories.

The bikes you are talking about would probably work fine for you and your sweetie. However, it is going to get expensive once you start needing maintenance. If you get the bikes from your local shop they will probably offer you a year of free (regular) maintenance.